CHILDREN ON THE EDGE CHILD PROTECTION TEAMS

BUILDING A PROTECTIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR CHILDREN IN UGANDAN SLUM COMMUNITIES INTRODUCTION

Despite an almost universal ratification of the risk. They are advocates with a focus on Convention for the Rights of the Child, the upholding child rights. They are also the eyes protection of children from exploitation, and ears of the institutions that can help. neglect and abuse is weak in many places across the world. The model is low cost, sustainable, community owned and rooted in a child rights approach. Legislation at national level often has trouble It does not have a ‘one size fits all’ method, it translating to the grass roots of vulnerable is responsive to the needs of each community, communities. Due to lack of resources, yet lends itself to the process of being awareness and motivation, the implementation simplified, replicated and scaled up to create of child rights standards can be patchy at change on a wider scale. best. The response to this problem by charitable organisations can often be shaped This approach does not detract from national by attention to symptoms rather than causes frameworks set out for child protection, but and the injection of capital rather than long- identifies the capacities needed to support term community development. these frameworks at societal and familial level2. Within the context of these frameworks, The Uganda Police Crime report has reported communities are encouraged to identify gaps child sexual abuse as one of the top crimes in in child protection that are specific to their Uganda, with other forms of child abuse; own area and connect with the relevant duty physical, emotional, social and economic bearers. In partnership with these services shown as being on the rise. Currently, child- and through the participation of the children sensitive aspects of social protection activities themselves, they are trained and resourced to are not well-articulated and child protection develop the factors that will keep their systems strengthening activities are limited1. children safer in the long term.

Through building relationships in small This document will give a concise breakdown Ugandan slum communities, Children on the of the components necessary to create an Edge have developed a simple Child effective Child Protection Team. It will then Protection Team (CPT) model, which has describe the development of this model proved effective in supporting communities in through our initial pilot programme and its the creation of a protective environment for replication into the wider area. their children. Through the clarification of this model and the The CPTs act as a link between the community outlining of case studies profiling its success, children and the duty bearers that are we hope to provide a tool by which the responsible for their care (i.e. parents, local approach can be replicated on a wider scale counsellors, police, schools etc). They are a throughout vulnerable communities in Uganda voice for the voiceless, intervening and and potentially beyond. advising in situations where children are at

1 (2015) UNICEF and The Republic of Uganda - Situation Analysis of Children in Uganda

2 The Committee on the Rights of the Child recognises that responsibilities to respect and ensure the rights of children extend in practice beyond the state to include children, parents, wider families, carers and non-state services and organisations. General Comment No. 5, supra note 6, 56. 1

CONTENTS

1. The Child Protection Team (CPT) model p 3 1.1 Background 1.2 The seven components

2. Masese II CPT - Pilot Project p 11 1.1 How the CPT bought change 1.2 Going forward

3. Replication - Masese I, Masese III & Loco p 18 3.1 Identification of needs 3.2 Creating the new teams 3.3 Work so far 3.4 The next step - Education funds

4. Child Protection Teams - Scaleability p 23

5. In Conclusion p 25

2 1. CHILD PROTECTION TEAM MODEL

1.1 Background • Children in post earthquake and tsunami hit Indonesia. • Migrant, refugee and IDP (internally Children on the Edge displaced people) children who have escaped ethnic cleansing and persecution Children on the Edge exists to help in Burma or living within Burma and on its marginalised and forgotten children, who are borders. living on the edge of their societies across the • Children in the post earthquake slums of world. These are children without parental Port au Prince, care, neglected or persecuted by their • Working children and Rohingya refugee governments, ignored by international media children in Bangladesh and missed by large overseas agencies. • Children from the Dalit ‘untouchable’ caste in India For over 25 years we have been working in • Syrian refugee children in Lebanon. partnership with local communities, helping them to create safe, child friendly The projects undertaken with each of these environments. We support children to realise groups are bespoke to the community we are their rights, and restore the ingredients of a full working with. We support local people to give childhood by generating hope, life, colour and these children a safe environment where they fun. are protected. Our work ensures that their rights are realised; in particular their rights to Our expertise over this time has been built up shelter, nourishment, education and play. working in situations of conflict, poverty and natural disaster. In addition to our child Our programmes are often used as models of protection in Uganda, projects have included good practice, leading to change on a larger work with: scale and creating an impact that punches above our weight. • Institutionalised children in Romania, Albania and Bosnia • Kosovan refugee children in Albania and during the rebuilding process in Kosovo • Traumatised children and youth post- conflict in Timor-Leste

3 Masese II slum, Uganda This resulted in an environment where children were highly vulnerable to abuse. Despite the high level of support expressed by the Ugandan government regarding child Most seriously this neglect left children prone rights, due to lack of resources amongst other to abduction by perpetrators of child sacrifice, factors, these national commitments lack a practice that is sadly still common in many sufficient practical impact in many of the most parts of Uganda. vulnerable communities. Through building relationships with, and In 2011 we were invited to contribute to a training people in the community, piece by children's project facilitated by a Ugandan piece we were able to support them in the NGO which was providing vocational training creation of a protective environment for their to teenagers in a very needy slum area children. surrounding Jinja, they identified a gap in the provision of safety and care for small children This group of volunteers provided with which we were asked to help address. ongoing support, training and simple resources have motivated their neighbours to When we first began working in Masese II take pride in the area, to pursue productive slum, children were extremely vulnerable to sources of income to create an environment neglect, abuse and exploitation. Sanitary where children are safe. conditions were appalling, with rubbish piled throughout every stretch of the slum.

The main source of income was through unlicensed breweries which were not only physically dangerous for children but created a community of adults who were rarely sober.

4 1.2 The Seven Child Protection Team ask how they came to the community and find Components out a bit more. If you identify someone who is responsive then you go back to them again the next day. In this process you begin to This section will outline the basic components understand.” Babra COTE Africa Social of creating, training and facilitating a Child Worker. Protection Team (CPT). The following sections will then give an overview of how this model Through talking with local people they begin served to create change through our pilot to get an impression about the needs and project and how it now being replicated into problems in the area. They then carry out the wider area. surveys, play with the children and chat about their lives, make door to door visits, meet the The vital components of Child Protection community leaders and the chairpeople, talk Teams are; to area councillors and the police. The triangulation of all these things builds up a 1. Community relationship building picture of what the community identify as 2. Community led sensitisation crucial for their children. 3. Election, training and resourcing of CPTs 4. Strengthening of connections with duty b) Building trust bearers 5. Education loans “You don’t walk in like you’re the boss. These 6. The encouragement of child participation people were here before you. You need to talk 7. Ongoing team training, retention and to them on their level, then they will open up. If sustainability you have meeting at a slum and you’re thinking “I’m so special, I can only touch 1. Community Relationship Building things with my handkerchief’ then next time no one will be at the meeting.” Babra COTE a) Identifying needs Africa Social Worker.

The initial stages of most development One of the main principles in building trust projects are focused on needs assessments. and ensuring the sustainability of the team is With this model, building relationships with the to avoid any kind of promise regarding community is essential to the identification of resources and investment. Because of the fast its needs. When starting out, although our staff turnover of various charitable organisations in have a thorough knowledge of the area vulnerable communities, when approached, through external data and statistics, these are people often expect the result to be a short just a context within which to place the voices lived project with a small group of of the people actually living and experiencing beneficiaries. Consequently they either don’t life in that area. engage at all, or get involved with unrealistic expectations that lead to disappointment. “We always do a needs assessment and that’s important, but we don’t really know what’s “We don't promise anything. Our projects are going on until we get to know the community completely owned by the community and they and really talk to them.” Edwin Wanabe COTE participate from the start. They identify the Africa Programme Director problems, they identify the solutions. They are a voice for the voiceless”. Winnie Biira COTE As a first step, members of the Children on the Africa Edge Africa team visit the community and introduce themselves. They walk through the This process also serves to identify the area and observe. They build trust and get to potential members of the CPT, or at least know people. people who can mobilise the community to engage with the sensitisation workshops in the “It is as simple as walking round and next stage. Through the ongoing building of approaching those who are smiling at you. relationship with local people they begin to The next day you go back to those people, pinpoint ‘opinion leaders’ and pillars of the community. They are not looking for

5 politicians, but people that are trusted and then they give them another week to followed, people that can motivate others. identify the next topic that needs addressing.

Babra explains “To establish who these Three months of these workshops lead into people are, after we talk with a person I ask if I the election of the Child Protection Team.3. can have their number. I tell them we will be Election, training and resourcing of new CPTs running a workshop and ask them to invite people. When the workshop happens I ask the 3. Election, training and resourcing attendees who told them about it, soon you see a pattern of influence. Also some people a) Election will talk about their difficulties and say ‘I talked to this person with my problem’. It’s quite a The strategy of electing child protection team process but soon you see who is looked up to members following a series of workshops is and relied upon and they are often the people based on a number of factors. Firstly it’s best who are vital in bringing change” that people select those who will represent the children at a time when the values of child 2. Community-led sensitisation protection and child rights are fresh in their minds, as these are the same values that are “It’s in the workshops that we touch the real important in building a child protection team. wounds of a community, the real issues come Secondly they are newly inspired and out” Edwin Wanabe - COTE Africa Programme confident to create change in the community, Director resourced with all the information that has been imparted. Community sensitisation consists of a series of monthly child protection workshops tackling “Sensitisation wakes the community up to the issues that have been identified by local problems, if they respond well and they people during the relationship building stage. accept the problems, we then explain that we If relationship building has been effective, the are just an organisation but they know the workshops will be well attended and act as community more than we do. It is only them catalysts for the creation of a protective that can change the area, we request that environment for children in the area. there is a group that will change the area which is elected. They are the eyes and ears Workshops are often facilitated by members of of the children, they can work when we are not the police, community development officers, there.” Edwin Wanabe COTE Africa health inspectors or chaired by local Programme Director councillors to begin the process of building relationship between the community and the The community are gathered for a meeting but services available to it. not told there is going to be an election. This prevents potential canvassing or influence They also serve to further the understanding from politically motivated individuals in the of needs. As the issues are broached and area. At the meeting there is a basic refresher discussed, people open up about their own on all of the issues covered the workshops, a stories and the specific problems they are proposal about the formation of a voluntary facing. At the end of each workshop, the team of 10 people and, if the community are in COTE Africa team evaluate with the group agreement, then there are nominations and an whether the workshop met their objectives, election.

6 The team then stand up so they are known, resources they need to carry them out and and going forward at the end of each which team members will implement them. workshop they stand up and we say that the community can report child abuse cases c) Resourcing directly to them instead of the Children on the Edge staff. Over time and in response to the tools identified in the work plan, the teams are The different roles to which people are elected provided with a simple set of resources. These to are; Chair person, Vice chair person, include: Treasurer, Secretary and six other team members. • Gumboots - to ensure the team can access the muddy slums, even in wet b) Training weather, with their feet protected from jiggers The training sessions that are held after the • T-shirts - so they can be identified as they election and establishment of the CPT take walk around the community. The T-shirts them through the responsibilities associated have messages printed on the back with their roles. inspiring action and awareness on an identified issue in the community They are trained on record keeping, basic • A bicycle - for quick trips to refer cases to counselling, confidentiality and the best police or report emergencies interests of the child. They are coached on • A loud speaker - primarily as a warning recognising the warning signs of abuse and system to alert community of the presence domestic violence on children. They are of individuals posing a threat to children. thoroughly briefed on ethics, child protection Also used to spread news in emergencies policies, referral pathways, non discrimination (i.e cholera outbreaks) or simply for and consent. community meeting announcements. • ID cards - So they can be trusted and so After this training they are competent in someone else can’t claim that they are on handling cases and confident in discerning the CPT. when to refer a case to the police. All cases • Stationery to record cases. they deal with are reported back to the Children on the Edge staff who give them Through their trainings they will learn to ongoing support as necessary. fundraise, but sometimes they will be given small amounts to help in their communication They are then supported in creating a work (i.e. phone credit). At a later stage there is an plan. At this training session, the facilitator ‘emergency fund’ of 150,000 Ugandan takes them through the basics, then asks shillings that they are given each quarter to them to draw up a draft work plan which is help respond to emergency situations (e.g then discussed. They decide what activities hospital visits for children). are important within this period, what

7 d) CPT begins working within the community cases taken seriously, dealt with quickly and without corruption or bribery. Sensitisation workshops carry on after the election of the CPT, but they are based on the In turn the police and other institutions can findings of the newly formed team rather than communicate through the CPT how people the community research done by Children on can get the best out of the service. They can the Edge staff. also learn from the CPT about any current dangers and criminal activity that is harmful to The CPT members fulfil their roles as they are children and act on the information quickly, going about their daily lives. Through their tackling problems more effectively. normal routine and work they will be interacting in the community. With the benefit of their training they can observe, ask 5. Education funds questions and report back to the rest of the team about situations they come across. Education funds are small business loans given via the CPTs to the most vulnerable Slowly the community recognises each team households, enabling them to create a source member and understands their role. By this of income which covers the costs of providing time they are regularly approached on any for their children and sending them to school. issues regarding child protection and child rights. They are the first port of call for child Before receiving the loans they are taken safety. through group workshops where they acquire enterprise development knowledge and skills. The team meet each week and discuss any They also work together to manage each issues that have been brought to them and other's expectations. plan their work strategy accordingly. They record all cases with the stationery provided To receive the loan an individual will make a and are trained to know when to refer on to business plan and write an application with other agencies. support from the CPT. They are given a timeframe within which to pay it back, by 4. Strengthening relationship with duty bearers which time they have a thriving business, a child in school and a good knowledge of how Throughout this entire process Children on the to manage their own finances. Edge develop strong relationships with local The repaid loan is then available to go government officials, local councillors, police, someone else in need, they also pay a little and community leaders. These professionals interest (10%), so the pot can gradually will have been involved in the facilitation of the increase, in order to help more people. The sensitisation workshops and are now well- repayment of the loan with a little interest known to the CPT members. teaches business and budgeting skills, rather than dependency and makes the fund itself The CPT works in partnership with these duty sustainable. For single mothers and bearers. As a result local people have their

8 grandmothers the interest rate is reduced to obliged to fend for themselves, but their views 5%. are listened to regarding dangers and solutions They are helped to gain a thorough For some grandmothers that can’t work, there awareness of their rights and taught about are a small number of interest free loans. ways to avoid risks. All of this can contribute These are available as households like this are to making them less vulnerable and more too scared to take the loan and find resourceful. themselves trapped. This kind of agency needs support to develop. A major aim of this component is to grow self From the outset children are consulted about esteem, so the business applications only the problems in their area. need to be very simple. The CPT forms a self help group who support each other in creating “The voices of the children are vital in the business plans and writing applications. They initial assessment of an area. They can tell you sign each others forms, promising to support places that are friendly to them. They tell you each other to do well and get the loan paid about people they run to in case they have a back, in this way they support each other as a problem.They are naturally more honest as team. they just speak from the heart without putting a spin on it” Edwin Wannabe COTE Africa As people continue to progress in their Programme Director. business, it opens their minds to wider options, many then request a second loan to When the community sensitisation workshops expand. In time, the business in the area begin, the children have their own gatherings grows. on the verandahs where they talk about their community. They are encouraged to map out 6. Child Participation the area with sticks and stones, or crayons and paper if available. In this way they From a child rights perspective, the children express their thoughts about places where we work with need to be encouraged to be they feel safe and places where they feel agents of their own protection. They are not threatened.

9 in the field. Through hearing stories from other Through time the children work hand-in-hand teams they can understand how to achieve with the members of the CPT and are transformation without a huge injection of instrumental in using the teams to protect finance. This process builds hope for what themselves and their friends. The CPT can be achieved. facilitates child rights workshops to help the children gain an understanding of their rights and how to realise them. These are often jointly facilitated by members of the police and probation social welfare officials, so the children can start to identify duty bearers.

7. Ongoing team training, retention and sustainability

All participation in the child protection team work is entirely voluntary. This is potentially off- putting for team members yet in over five years not one person has resigned.

The reason for this is that these people genuinely want to see change for the children in their care. When we talk about these projects being community-owned it isn’t a token gesture or a use of jargon. When the Children on the Edge Africa staff approach local people they promise nothing, they simply make it clear that it is the community that really know about the problems endangering their children and it is the community that have the solutions. We simply support them to bring change.

The rewarding side for the team members is that they get to see their neighbourhood transform and know that they had a part in it. They also have a sense of pride that amongst others they are known and respected for the good work they are doing.

“The people have a heart for children. when they have made a change, they are proud, so they are inspired to keep working. The community are appreciating what they’re doing, it is motivating. They always know it is voluntary, so there’s no expectation of money and no disappointment.” Babra COTE Africa Social Worker.

The teams are given ongoing support and training from the Children on the Edge Africa staff. They are also invited to meet together with other Child Protection Teams from neighbouring slum areas to share experiences and support each other. Those that have just started can learn from people who are already

10 2. MASESE II CPT - PILOT PROJECT

This section describes the implementation of 3. Appalling sanitary conditions in the slum. these components in our Masese II pilot. We focus particularly on case studies of success 4. Neglect of children leaving them extremely and lessons learnt for scaling up the model. vulnerable to child sacrifice. At the time this was a monthly occurrence. Masese II is one of eight peri-urban townships surrounding Jinja and was identified in 2011 2.1 How the CPT bought change as the neediest slum. There are approximately 4,000 inhabitants here, who are all cramped Using the seven steps described in the model within 10 acres. The majority have been above, the Child Protection Team effectively displaced from Northern Uganda with tackled each of the needs identified. additional numbers having fled from Rwanda and Sudan. The first step was to facilitate community sensitisation workshops, in order to create an When we first visited Masese II, children were impact in a sustainable manner, where the at risk of exploitation, abuse and child community was able to understand and own sacrifice. As our team built relationships here its role right from the outset. and spent time with local people discussing the problems in the area, the community The workshops were well attended and identified the following four problem areas with covered issues like child rights, child abuse regards to the abuse of child rights: (with separate sessions on different areas i.e physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional 1. Brewing and distilling alcohol in dangerous abuse and neglect) and domestic violence and unlicensed breweries. This was the and its effects on children. area's primary economic activity meaning children were being exposed to extreme These workshops also paved the way for the hazards. With no productive livelihoods election of 10 trusted individuals to form the parents were dependent on these Child Protection Team, who were given breweries and could not afford to send training and simple resources. They began to children to school. work on developing trust and building a protective environment for their children, step- 2. Domestic violence and child abuse, by-step. They also focussed on restoring hope exacerbated by alcohol abuse and a lack and dignity in situations where abuse had understanding regarding parenting and occurred. childcare.

11 Sarah from Masese II CPT describes the The Child Protection Team were able to building of trust in the area: “They would see address this issue by providing alternative the way we managed cases, we built up the productive livelihoods. They did this through relationships slowly, slowly and it was a the provision of education loans and process of bringing people together. We agricultural inputs. The agricultural inputs speak to people with peace and don’t judge. were provided in association with a local NGO We also keep every case confidential, so we who, with support from Children on the Edge, have their trust”. ran an Early Childhood Development Centre and planted up an area of land as a Children were consulted from the start. The community garden. Vulnerable households in CPT organised a child rights workshop which the community could receive training, work was facilitated by the previous manager of the the land and receive seeds for sack gardens Jinja Police Child and Family Protection Unit, outside their own homes. who now works regularly with the team. The children were taught about their rights, how to The education loans, described in the model realise them and how the CPT were a part of above were particularly successful because of that. They were introduced to the CPT so they their sustainable nature. Whilst the agricultural could take information to team members near component and sack gardens were a very their homes. Going forward the children positive input, the NGO providing them ran became a major part of the activities of the into difficulties and people were left without a team, knowing that the members work on their source of seeds, tools or land to work. behalf. This further honed our perspectives on the The CPT also worked hard on developing their model going forward. Anything promised or relationships with duty bearers such as the introduced to the community needs to be able police, the ‘LC1’ (local councillor on the to be sustained by the community. Education ground in Masese II), the probation officer, the loans do just this. With one initial input the community development officer and the fund keeps growing small businesses and higher divisions of government. with a small amount of interest, keeps growing itself. With the community behind them they began to address the issues identified in the Once women had means to create their own following ways. positive sources of income, the breweries started to topple. The women didn’t own them, a) Breaking dependence on unlicensed they just worked at them, the owners exploited breweries them and paid very low wages which is why the children were always out of school3. Once At the start there were 14 breweries in the the breweries had no workers, they had to slum. Black, toxic sludge ran in streams from close as the owners had no interest in doing these places, which were situated every 15-20 this kind of job themselves. metres. The smoke was acrid and the sludge pits had no fences. There were many reports of children falling into these pits in fatal accidents, or suffering the result of exploding canisters of hot liquid. Some children were fed the dregs of the alcohol mix.

If children weren't present at these dangerous breweries, they would be left unattended and vulnerable throughout the day.

3 Primary school is free in Uganda, but the price of uniforms, school supplies and other incidental costs are too high for many poor households. Sometimes government money is late coming through, so the only way schools can run is through the contribution of parents and many do not have the fee to contribute.

12 Within three years the number of breweries in to start her out with a standpipe selling water. Masese II dropped from 14 to 1. Here are This was successful, she paid back the loan some of examples of what then women did instead. and she was saving well. She then had the idea of building two rooms to rent out. Her (I) Grandparent headed households - Pottery savings weren't quite enough, so she applied cooperative for another loan and built two rooms to rent. Katherine is now a successful business lady, Due to the prevalence of AIDS in the area Each time she has borrowed, she has paid there are many grandparent headed back more into the fund which has then gone households. Some grandmothers in the area to other people in need. are looking after up to 13 children in one small hut and have no means of creating an income * * * let alone to send their children to school. These are just a few examples where small loans have enabled vulnerable households to Using the education loan system, a group of gain a productive source of income and send four grandmothers pooled their loans and their children to school. The most needy started a pottery cooperative. The group soon households are identified by the CPT. They grew to 10 women who met together every have now provided hundreds of loans, Thursday to work together purifying clay taken including 8 loans to grandparent headed from the Nile riverbed. Over time the group households and 25 to single mother has grown to 30, they have made enough households . money to pay for better clay, their own kiln and their own wheel. Henry from Masese II CPT describes the impact of the loans but also how the need for (II) Farida - Soap business them is lessening as they run in parallel with community sensitisation. He says “We are Farida started out with a loan to set up a empowering them and only a few are left to charcoal business. This began to get her on pay them back, so all that will be being her feet, but charcoal, although cheap to buy, passed on to others who need it. We have had was not very marketable and she had two hundreds of cases, too many to count, there children to send school. Her second loan used to be about 20 a quarter, but now there enabled her to begin a soap business, which is 5 or 6 because the community sensitisation needs more capital to start with. She is now is working”. doing well and able to send her children to school. When they are home they can sit with Previously there were only toxic breweries her in safety while she makes the soap. every few metres, now the community is buzzing with many and various small (III) Katherine - From vegetable seller to industries. There are stalls that sell landlady vegetables, kale, berries, cabbage, fruit, stalls selling cooked food, stalls selling water from Katherine started with her first loan selling standpipes and more importantly than this, vegetables, she paid it back, then got another there are a great many more children going to school.

13 b) Reduction of domestic abuse, child abuse Through building connections with the police, and alcohol dependence they have also gained more support from the service in the community. Babra describes As they got to know the community, The CPT how perspectives have changed; “The police became aware that cases of domestic abuse, in that community would be dismissive if child abuse and alcohol dependence were people reported cases. They didn’t feel it was often interrelated. Through community their concern, they just thought they were a sensitisation workshops, many home visits, bunch of drunks and not worth the trouble. much patience and a strong working Now they take the community seriously”. relationship with the local police the CPT began to see the number of cases drop Having a strong link with the police means dramatically. that when dealing in problems of alcohol dependence and the abuse that results from The initial workshops on alcohol abuse, it, the CPT are respected. domestic abuse and child abuse were well attended but the majority of attendees were A case that illustrates this is a situation where often women. The team soon realised that the a man in the community had been neglecting women would learn at the workshops and go his family. When the CPT talked to him he home to tell the men who wouldn’t agree. complained that he had enjoyed a peaceful Soon they established a routine of home visits life before marrying his wife. He didn’t want to following each workshop. change his easy lifestyle. This man wouldn’t provide food, but would come back drunk and Team members would visit the men and be abusive. He refused to change as he was explain the nature of the information in humble severely addicted. way. This was an effective method of engaging them and they were soon As a last resort, because of the abuse, the comfortable reporting their own cases and team referred the case to the police. The man knowing their own responsibilities in building a agreed to start providing for the children, but protective environment for children. he still didn’t change. After a week he came back drunk and violent. The wife had cassava In addition to this, having a strong connection flour out to make dinner, he kicked it over and with the police and training from them about she poured the hot water on him in anger. The the legalities of what abuse is punishable by case went back to the police again, but they law, gave weight to the advice and guidance arrested the man instead of the woman of the CPT. Not only are team members because he had not changed his ways. This trained in the law but they can refer cases was a lesson to him.. he came home and where they do not get an adequate response. completely changed. He says that he knows the CPT is always watching him and following Jane Francis from the Masese II CPT explains, him up to see if he buys food for the children. “We had a case of a man from the Western Isle. People from there think they have the This is just one example of hundreds of cases right to beat a woman if he feels she is that the Masese II CPT have been involved disturbing him. He beat his wife every day, the with. They are the go-to people when ever children would be hurt too. Two of our team there is trouble and consequently the crime members visited him, he was very hostile so rate has gone down. They are the eyes and we went back all together and he knew we ears of the organisations that can help and were serious. After having some discussion they are a voice for the children. with him he changed. We always visit homes in peace, although he was hostile, we talked to him in peace. We were not going to arrest or quarrel or make orders, but talk in peace until he understood why we were there. We then told him the laws. He didn’t know it was crime. We told him he would be arrested and he stopped.”

14 c) Improving hygiene and sanitation organised the regular cleaning of the throughout the slum community. As they started work on a small- scale with different households it had a knock- The appalling conditions in the slum five years on-effect. As they encouraged one person to ago were not just as a result of the toxic take pride in their plot, their neighbour would sludge coming from the breweries. Refuse of see it and be motivated to clean theirs. all sorts was piled throughout every part of the area, outside peoples homes and at every Since this time, fortnightly cleanings are still corner. There was no method of disposing of carried out throughout Masese II and the waste and faeces and people did not take block leaders instruct the landlords to keep up pride in the cleanliness of their home or the standards. neighbourhood. Grace is a mother of 5, she describes how The CPT began their work through providing “The cleanliness has changed dramatically. training at workshops and demonstration Workshops have taught people how to points throughout the area. They were not dispose of waste. Now there are holes dug in territorial about the project. They connected set places, and they put their rubbish there.” with the block leaders, the landlords, the government health inspector and village health teams. These teams were not trained and to this point had not been effective, but working in partnership with the CPT and other community members they began to make progress.

The Masese II area is divided into blocks so the CPT suggested that they engage people through their block leaders. In this way they

Priscilla is a grandmother of 15 children. She says “There used to be rubbish everywhere, and now it is much much cleaner and also you don’t find faeces everywhere because of the training that is held”. 15 d) Addressing child neglect and eradicating avoid it, and the CPT have taught them about child sacrifice not wandering too far from home.

The police have cited the eastern region of All of these measures had a significant impact Uganda as having the highest incidence of on the number of abductions, with seven child sacrifice cases; with Moses Binonga4 cases in 2011, eight in 2012 and then a blaming the high infiltration of unregistered complete eradication of incidents in Masese II healers. With little protection or justice from in the last 3 years. the authorities, communities like Masese II were seemingly powerless. Says Programme Director Edwin Wanabe, “What doesn’t work well are awareness The combination of these beliefs and the high campaigns that are not owned by the local levels of neglect that were present in the area people within the community. The CPT has left children extremely vulnerable to abduction created an impact by building relationship and sacrifice. The Child Protection Team was and trust, but the government’s poster, radio established at the seven of the killing spate in and TV ads do not get the message through. July 2012. At this time incidents were monthly This is because many poorer communities are and the community were desperate. illiterate, and people respond better to the advice of their own friends and neighbours, The team focussed on raising awareness on rather than that of strangers and authorities”. the issue of child sacrifice, tackling the beliefs, mindsets and behaviour that sustain This level of awareness is still high in the area the practice. These workshops were held and there have been no more abductions. together with local leaders and police. Recently there was an attempt where a man They were equipped with a loudspeaker slowly befriended children who spent time system so that when a child went missing the around the local shop, along with their community could be alerted. This along with a mothers. He would regularly give them small bicycle that enabled members to immediately motorcycle rides, but the mothers knew and report cases to the local police has proved to were happy with the situation. He got to know be a remarkable deterrent to the perpetrators. them, and they trusted him, then one day he Attackers started to realise they would easily was giving a girl a ride and suddenly took her get caught if they tried anything in that area. off into the bush on the motorcycle. He stopped to call a friend and the girl got away. The CPT’s general community sensitisation She went straight to a woman’s house who ran work played a large part in the process of to the CPT. The team alerted the tackling child sacrifice. They provided training neighbourhood, called the police and the on child protection issues, holding community perpetrator fled, leaving his motorcycle. wide meetings and visiting door to door. The aim was to encourage an understanding that The CPT have requested a refresher training the neglect of children is strongly linked to on the subject, acknowledging that most of their risk of abduction. This coupled with the their teaching in the community had been income generated through education loans focused on the risk presented by strangers. which enabled parents to send children to The mother knew the man, and trusted him, so school, started to create an environment this grooming technique is a new element to where children were safe. be aware of both in Masese II and in the new communities going forward. Children participated in the process by engaging with social mapping sessions, identifying the area by the railway tracks as presenting the most risk for abduction. Children used to collect scrap around these tracks, but since the mapping session they

4 Assistant Commissioner of the Uganda Police and Head of the Ugandan National Counter Human Trafficking Taskforce.

16 2.2 Going forward

The Child Protection Team in Masese II has “It is not only us fighting child abuse now. The seen phenomenal success in meeting the community know and they fight it too” Henry - needs they originally identified. Aside from Masese II CPT. refresher trainings and general support they are running entirely independently. Now the team is established and effective, they are instrumental in the running of sharing The team make their own referrals and deal and training days for new teams as the model with all cases themselves, writing up each one is replicated in the wider area. for their records and evaluation. The majority of cases that are brought out in the area are All four teams meet together to talk about their the result of the work of the CPT. The police experiences, learn from the original project states this regularly and are thankful for their and to be encouraged that large-scale contribution. The different duty bearers that change is possible, even with very few are engaged all give credit to the CPTs. resources.

The community members are proud of the work the team is doing and have seen the transformation in their area. They feel that before the CPT, the local councillor didn’t act if there was a report, but now people know that when they report through the CPT, action will be taken.

“Our work is sustained because we have the support of the community, even if we are not there the community carry on doing the work while we are gone. They know the principles now and they pass it onto others until everyone knows, not just us.” Faith - Masese II CPT.

17 3. REPLICATION

Children on the Edge - Africa have used the alcohol sachets people drop’ and we will see experiences, successes and lessons of the clearly problems that we wouldn’t have seen Masese II pilot to take the model into three otherwise. In Loco the children told us the new communities (Masese I, Masese III and latrines are too wide and they can fall in the Loco) all facing different challenges in hole. None of the adults mentioned this.” building a protective environment for their children. A summary of the needs identified are:

This section looks at how replication works in Loco is a small slum community, formed of different communities with different issues, basic rows of barracks that were owned by drawing examples from each area. The teams the railway corporation for their workers. The here are still in their infancy but looking at the demise of the railway has meant that the initial response to their work provides the accommodation is now rented to the poorest opportunity to assess not only how successful families at the cheapest rate in town. the model is likely to be in the wider slum areas surrounding Jinja, but how effective and The high rate of HIV has resulted in many adaptable it might be when scaled up across widows, child-headed and Grandparent- many vulnerable communities in Uganda. headed households. General health, hygiene and sanitation within the community is poor 3.1 Identification of needs and there is a serious substance misuse problem here, leaving children especially As with Masese II, as relationships were vulnerable to abuse and neglect. formed by Children on the Edge - Africa staff, they formed a picture of the environment and Rampant theft and frequent instances of needs for children in each area. domestic violence also create a volatile environment. Child neglect is rife, with Children were involved from the start of this children regularly abandoned and left to fend process. Edwin describes how “Children for themselves. always look at things from their angle, which will be different from what the adults are The nearby nursery school and primary saying . The adults may be proud or ashamed school are both run down and expensive to but the children will say ‘I pick up scrap’ ‘The attend, stopping the most vulnerable children last meal I had was on Saturday’ ‘We play with from enrolling.

18 Masese I is a large, densely populated move on, so they desperately need to develop lakeside slum community, formed mostly of sustainable incomes and food sources. internally displaced people from Northern Uganda. It is ten times the size of Masese II 3.2 Creating the new teams with a population of around 500,000. The subjects covered in the sensitisation 70% of the community have no permanent workshops were decided with the community jobs, and with casual labour paying an members as part of building relationships and average of 1500 shillings a day (approx 30p), identifying needs. It turned out with these rent is too expensive. Consequently many three communities that the priority areas were children have to work finding firewood to pay all the same for the initial training, so each for rent and food instead of going to school. community received workshops on child For those that do want to pursue education, abuse, domestic abuse, child exploitation and many can’t afford the school costs or nursery children with special needs. fees. The workshops in all areas were very well The community is mainly made up of widows, attended and responded to. They were a single mothers, child mothers and child great preparation for the election of each CPT. headed households. Many children are Each community then elected 10 people to abandoned when single mothers try to solve represent them. This went very smoothly with their problems by marrying, only to find that the exception of Masese I who against advice their children are not welcome in the new elected some politicians from the area. The household. Many are orphaned through HIV team soon realised that the politicians were and malaria. using their membership as a campaign strategy. At the next workshop they re-elected. “Because there are many children who are poor and not going to school, most men and Once established, each team was provided women have grudges against one another with all the training and resources described and this affects the children. There is rape of in Section 1. They also began meeting with children, there is child labour, many have to the original Masese II CPT to learn from their break stones to earn money, or pick scrap. experiences, share stories and encourage There is kidnap of children for child sacrifice each other. and we need to prevent it.” Teddy - Masese I CPT 3.3 Work so far Masese III is a slum community for low cost In just a few months the new teams began to renters with an estimated population of around make change in each area. Here are a few of 5,000. The community consists of many the examples: Karamojong people, who are a nomadic group from Northern Uganda. Loco: Lowered crime rate The Karamojong traditionally let their children During a social mapping exercise with the wander unattended, resulting in many left children in Loco, one of the subjects covered alone all day whilst their parents are working. was areas that are dangerous. The children This results in a high number of street identified the football grounds, saying that in children. Child marriage is a serious issue in the evenings people are beaten. They this area due to traditional practices, which described how it is dangerous to even pass can be brutal. Child headed households by these areas but some parents send them to (often as a result of HIV) and child protection shops at that time and they are at risk of being issues are rife and alcoholism is a recurring assaulted. They also identified the drug dealer problem. that was doing all the selling. Over the past few years the community have To follow up on these issues the community become dependent on food handouts from a liaison officer was contacted, after a week neighbouring organisation who is about to they sent somebody to do a fact finding

19 project and they dealt with some drug people have been disillusioned through their abusers. After three weeks the district police experience of bribery, corruption and a commander sent his assistant, the community perception that the police are against them. liaison officer, the regional family and child protection officers. The CPT set up a meeting with the community and the police and, because it came from The dealer has now left the community. Rather them and they are trusted, many people from than going directly to the man, the police the community came along. Seven police made it look like they were just doing a officers were there and the questions went on general inspection, but they knew who they until after dark. There were so many questions were targeting. They also arrested other that they set up a second one which was disruptive groups from the football area. This attended by over 130 people. place is considered a lot safer now and some police officers stay there at night to crack The Local councillor and his committee down on theft. attended the second meeting. He commented about what a difference the community Alongside actioning the police investigation, sensitisation workshops have already made, the CPT were talking to parents in the area with police officers following up after each about keeping a safer watch on their children. workshop. Many of the police policies and CPT member Annette describes how “These behaviours were questioned and explained places [corners of football area used for drug and representatives from the police selling and abuse] were hidden away. A nine highlighted the fact that the police cannot act month old baby was dumped in one of these on problems that are not reported. places, but someone came and got us, and we made sure the child was fostered. Now They discussed the fact that police ask for community members know who we are - they money from people who are arrested and it bring cases straight to us. We are going to be was made very clear that this is not allowed, having training on substance abuse to start to and should be reported. They were deal with the issue. Many people who commit encouraged not to run away from a police crime in the area are moving out. The patrol as they are there to keep safety and community is aware of them so they can’t get order, they are not there to beat people and away with it. The community love and anyone who does this should be reported. The appreciate the CPTs as they see the changes community were advised to read the name of that are happening”. the police officer on their uniform so they know who they're dealing with.

Loco: Building relationships between the Through their ongoing and visible partnership community and the police with the police in addressing domestic violence and substance misuse, as well as the The police have tried to engage Loco facilitation of these meetings, the Loco CPT community many times before with no are building understanding and trust between success. This is mainly due to the fact that the community and the police.

20 will learn about their rights and work together Loco: ECD Centre with school management committee and the CPTs. They will give their opinions on how Early childhood development was recognised things are run, and report issues that are as a particular need by the CPT here, as ECD going on with their friends. provision is run down and inaccessible. With an initial capital injection from Children on the Edge UK, a new centre is being built which Masese I: ‘Go - to’ team for child protection will cater for 40 children from the poorest households in Loco. In Masese I the team are beginning to put their training into practice. They have been This centre will be sustained and managed by encouraging children to attend school instead the community. As time goes by and local of loitering, advising a grandmother headed parents become more self-sufficient, they will household on caring for an HIV positive child be able to make small contributions. They will and supporting a bereaved father in caring for also be applying for district money and a new his children. school management committee will be trained to fundraise. Sissy, the youngest member of CPT here, has already begun to make a difference. She tells This committee will work in partnership with how “There is a mother in the area who sells the neighbouring primary school as a job, she leaves early and comes back headmistress. She will bring guidance and the late. She leaves her 2 year old in the care of ECD centre will be integrated with the primary an older sibling, but they just leave the small school as part of government policy. child on its own all day. Each day at dark the little one starts crying. I waited outside her After the sensitisation workshop on child home for the mother to return. I talked with her labour and exploitation, the community have kindly about the importance of keeping the become aware of the wrongs of making their little one safe, now she makes sure he is never children work instead of going to school. left alone”. Annette from Loco CPT says “People used to just loiter about, but now people who are poor Masese III: Sensitisation and the Karamojong are hopeful that if they work they can get their children into school so they are going out to The Masese III CPT are faced with the find jobs. The child exploitation workshop challenge of sensitising a community with helped explain that children should be in different cultural values. The largest tribe in school, and they can also see that an ECD this area is the Karamojong, a nomadic Centre is coming”. people group from northern Uganda. Their culture have a ‘hands off’ approach to Once the centre is up and running the CPT childcare, and as soon as a child can walk will set up a child rights group, where children they are left all day while the mothers work.

21 The father was reunited with the son who told Godfrey Rucho is the chairperson of the CPT him all about what he had been through. The here, he says “They think nothing of this, as father took him home, got him back to school this is how they were treated when they were and the CPT are keeping in touch with how children, they have not gone to school, they they doing. don’t value education. Some parents don’t mind where their children spend the night, the Two other girls from the house aged 12 and 16 children sleep outside, they don’t care if they (the 16-year-old was pregnant) were are safe or not. Pregnant women are not counselled and supported to go back home to allowed to bathe or go in the latrines, and their mothers. One boy refused to reveal his when their children fall sick they won’t take mother’s telephone number, but they found them to the clinic, they believe it will be fine. her at the market and reunited them. One by When they fall sick the clinics tell them to one most of the children are getting home bathe and come back and that is an insult, so safely, there are only two or three left in the they won’t go back and they won’t get better.”. house and the CPT are working with them.

To tackle the issue of communicating values across a culture, the team here have built 3.4 The next step - Education funds relationships with key people in the tribe, one of whom is the chairman of the tribe and is With the success of education funds in very open to their work. Another younger Masese II, the scheme is now being Karamojong woman has become a member of introduced to the new communities, with the CPT. training workshops on how they work in each area. Godfrey describes how “It used to be if you tried to talk to a parent they said ‘If you’re so The dynamics in Loco are very different than concerned then take them’, but we are Masese II, there is such a degree of poverty hoping that with the help of the Karomojong that loans cannot be handed out as simply. chairperson and a team member who is The CPT will be giving applicants three Karomojong, we can start to talk to more trainings on business rather than one. They parents about taking care of the children.” are going to form self help groups learning about saving and budgeting, before any business loans are given out. Also in all of Masese III: The protection of street children Loco interest rates will be reduced to 5%.

A community member came to the CPT and The Loco ECD centre will have two classes, a told them there were a number of street lower class and upper class, The parents of children who were all staying in one rented the 20 in the upper class of the ECD centre room. There were both girls and boys, with the will be eligible for the loan scheme, then when youngest around 12 and eldest 18. The CPT they pay it back the loan money can be chatted with them to find out what was passed to the 20 parents of the lower class. happening. The community had assumed it was an organisation paying for the house but In Masese I and Masese III, as the education it turned out the children were not being loans are not associated with a centre in looked after. They were from all over the area particular, the CPT will identify and approach and they were being mistreated. the poorest households. These areas are fairly well resourced with schools but there are The CPT talked to them about the dangers of issues of expense which the education loans living in the house, warned that they would will seek to address. At the same time the likely be victims of crime and how it would be CPTs will negotiate with the schools on behalf better for them to go home. The 12 year old of these households regarding reduced fees. said he had run away from his grandmother, they called the boy's father, who is a builder. He was working on an island and had taken the son to the grandmother, sent her money regularly and thought the son was at school.

22 4. SCALABILITY

The previous sections have provided a wealth It produces relevant, observable results of evidence that illustrate the large impact a simple, low cost model like the Child Through the pilot and its replication we have Protection Teams can have. become confident that we can see transformation in many new areas. This is In terms of horizontal5 scalability we feel this evidenced by the tangible results of the pilot model will be effective because of the and the rapid progress of the teams in the following factors: three new areas, addressing the felt needs originally identified by each community. It has credibility It has a low dependence on resources Teams are respected by the individuals they work with and the institutions they partner In this model we have a very small number of with, which puts the model in good stead to paid professionals supporting a large group of be replicated. The work is connected in with trained volunteers. In this way we are ensuring local and national laws, policies and services high quality child protection work, facilitated at making it applicable and welcome wherever it grass roots level without a crippling budget for is rolled out in Uganda. wages.

It has a relative advantage The CPT method of change is based on the concept that communities can improve what It is clear that it is these teams, rather than they have rather than being reliant on the other services that have brought the changes provision of expensive resources. Resources described, as the work is only established in that are provided are simple. Loudspeakers areas where there are no other effective rather than phones, bicycles rather than remedies to the problems. Whilst the teams jeeps, T-shirts bearing messages rather than work in partnership with other agencies and printed leaflets. All these resources are low service providers, it is them that identify the cost, but effective and were all suggested by cases and address them. The police, local the teams themselves. councillors and communities have all regularly attested to this.

5 Horizontal scaling up is where models may be replicated in different geographic sites or can be extended to serve larger or different population groups, as opposed to vertical scaling which refers to the policy, political, legal, regulatory or budgetary changes needed to institutionalise a model at national or sub-national level.

23 It is sustainable

As well as the low-cost element creating sustainability, the pilot has shown how well suited the model is for transitioning to independence. The Masese II CPT have not just achieved self sufficiency as a team, but have developed ownership within the community itself. The work in Masese II could continue with very little or no input from Children on the Edge and the CPT report that when they are absent, the local people carry on the work. They have embraced the values and are fully motivated to maintain a safe environment for their children.

They are not dependent on the direction, charisma and vision of one leader, but share the task as a community. This makes the work they do both democratic and robust. It is grounded in the understanding that the community have the knowledge already, with a little extra support and space to discuss their ideas, they can change the future for their children.

It is simple and adaptable

The seven components of the model are basic and straightforward, they do not need to be further simplified in order to be understood by a new group.

Because all strategy and direction is founded on the needs expressed by the community themselves, the model naturally adapts to different areas and challenges.

As the approach is founded in peaceful, humble and relational impartation of knowledge and values, it is conducive to creating change across cultures. This is already beginning to take shape in the work of the Masese II CPT with the Karamajong.

24 5. CONCLUSION

The success of scaling up can only be “I am proud of the CPT in Masese II, they do measured at the stage of implementation, but all the work with very little resources, they get a strong, tried and tested model puts us on on all by themselves, they refer cases and do good footing. The seven components of the follow ups themselves, they even do their own Child Protection Team model outlined in this fundraising. They work so well even though document should not be considered static. As they are not paid because it is from their implementation gets underway there is always hearts that they want to change the potential change, but adaption to the needs of community. It’s like having a child and seeing the local situation or changing circumstances them develop. I pray that the new are already inherent in how the model works. communities will be the same. We can’t go in as Children on the Edge and change the We have already seen that scaling up is a whole community, but we can work with them learning process, and will continue to be. We to change their own community”. go forward in the awareness that all learning, shaping and decision making requires a Babra - Social Worker - Children on the Edge thorough use of evidence, monitoring and Africa. evaluation.

We conclude with a statement about the strengths of the CPT model and its potential.

2016 | www.childrenontheedge.org | 01243 538530 25